WVC 3 - 3 - 5 C
§3-3-5c. Procedures for voting an emergency absentee ballot by
qualified voters.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a
person qualified to vote an emergency absentee ballot, as provided
in subsection (c), section one of this article may vote an
emergency absentee ballot under the procedures established in this
section. The county commission may adopt a policy extending the
emergency absentee voting procedures to: (1) Hospitals or other
duly licensed health care facilities within an adjacent county or
within thirty-five miles of the county seat; or (2) nursing homes
within the county: Provided, That the policy is to be adopted by
the county commission at least ninety days prior to the election
that will be affected and a copy of the policy is to be filed with
the secretary of state.

(b) On or before the fifty-sixth day preceding the date on
which any election is to be held the official designated to
supervise and conduct absentee voting shall notify the county
commission of the number of sets of emergency absentee ballot
commissioners which he or she determines necessary to perform the
duties and functions pursuant to this section.

(c) A set of emergency absentee ballot commissioners at-large
shall consist of two persons with different political party
affiliations appointed by the county commission in accordance with
the procedure prescribed for the appointment of election
commissioners under the provisions of article one of this chapter. Emergency absentee ballot commissioners have the same
qualifications and rights and take the same oath required under the
provisions of this chapter for commissioners of elections.
Emergency absentee ballot commissioners are to be compensated for
services and expenses in the same manner as commissioners of
election or poll clerks obtaining and delivering election supplies
under the provisions of section forty-four, article one of this
chapter.

(d) Upon request of the voter or a member of the voter's
immediate family or, when the county commission has adopted a
policy to provide emergency absentee voting services to nursing
home residents within the county, upon request of a staff member of
the nursing home, the official designated to supervise and conduct
absentee voting, upon receiving a proper request for voting an
emergency absentee ballot no earlier than the seventh day next
preceding the election and no later than noon of election day shall
supply to the emergency absentee ballot commissioners the
application for voting an emergency absentee ballot and the
balloting materials. The emergency absentee ballot application is
to be prescribed by the secretary of state and is to include the
name, residence address and political party affiliation of the
voter, the date, location and reason for confinement in the case of
an emergency, and the name of the attending physician.

(e) The application for an emergency absentee ballot is to be
signed by the person applying. If the person applying for an emergency absentee ballot is unable to sign his or her application
because of illiteracy or physical disability, he or she is to make
his or her mark on the signature line provided for an illiterate or
disabled applicant, the mark is to be witnessed. The person
assisting the voter and witnessing the mark of the voter shall sign
his or her name in the space provided.

(f) A declaration is to be completed and signed by each of the
emergency absentee ballot commissioners, stating their names, the
date on which they appeared at the place of confinement of the
person applying for an emergency absentee ballot and the
particulars of the confinement.

(g) At least one of the emergency absentee ballot
commissioners receiving the balloting materials shall sign a
receipt which is to be attached to the application form. Each of
the emergency absentee ballot commissioners shall deliver the
materials to the absent voter, await his or her completion of the
application and ballot and return the application and the ballot to
the official designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting.
Upon delivering the application and the voted ballot to the
official, the emergency absentee ballot commissioners shall sign an
oath that no person other than the absent voter voted the ballot.
The application and the voted ballot are to be returned to the
official designated to supervise and conduct absentee voting prior
to the close of the polls on election day. Any ballots received by
the official after the time that delivery may reasonably be made but before the closing of the polls are to be delivered to the
canvassing board along with the absentee ballots challenged in
accordance with the provisions of section ten of this article.

(h) Upon receiving the application and emergency absentee
ballot, the official designated to supervise and conduct absentee
voting shall ascertain whether the application is complete, whether
the voter appears to be eligible to vote an emergency absentee
ballot, and whether the voter is properly registered to vote with
the office of the clerk of the county commission. If the voter is
found to be properly registered in the precinct shown on the
application, the ballot is to be delivered to the precinct election
commissioner pursuant to section seven of this article. If the
voter is found not to be registered or is otherwise ineligible to
vote an emergency ballot, the ballot is to be challenged for the
appropriate reason provided for in section ten of this article.

(i) If either or both of the emergency absentee ballot
commissioners refuse to sign any application for voting an
emergency absentee ballot, the voter may vote as an emergency
absentee and the ballot will be challenged in accordance with the
provisions of section ten of this article, in addition to those
absentee ballots subject to challenge as provided in that section.

(j) Any voter who receives assistance in voting an emergency
absentee ballot shall comply with the provisions of section six of
this article. Any other provisions of this chapter relating to
absentee ballots not altered by the provisions of this section are to govern the treatment of emergency absentee ballots.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2014 1st Special Session
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